Pay-as-you-enter car.



E. L. STEPHENS.

PAY-AS-YOU-ENTER CAR.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.5. I9I2.

I 1 96,3 1 Q, Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

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E. L. STEPHENS.

PAY-AS-YOU-ENTER CAR. APPLICATION FILED AUG.5, 1912.

L1 96,810, Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

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EDWARD L. STEPHENS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented r111 29, 1916.

Driginal application filed May 16, 1910, Serial No. 561,753 Divided andthis application filed August 5, 1912. Serial No. 713,469.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD L. STEPHENS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, county of Los Angeles, and State of California,have invented a new and useful Pay-as-You-Enter Car, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to street cars of the type provided with doorsarranged in such manner as to require payment of the fare before thepassenger enters the body of the car.

This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 561,753,filed May 16th, 1910.

The main object of the present invention is to adapt cars of thecombination type provided with open and closed portions for use aspay-as-you-enter cars.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

I have shown herein, the door operating mechanism, but the same is notclaimed as it forms the subject matter of the application herein beforereferred to..

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention, and referringthereto:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a car with the middle portion brokenaway. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line m 00 inFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line w w in Fig.2. Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the pneumaticoperating means for the door, the pneumatic operating connec tionstherefor being shown diagrammatically. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section ofthe controlling valve in operative position. Fig. 6 is a verticalsection of said controlling valve.

1 designates the floor of the car body, 2 the posts or frame work and 3the roof. At each end of the floor 1 there is provided a free space orportion 5 of the floor forming the front or rear platform, according tothe direction of motion. At one side of this platform there is provideda relatively narrow exit passage 6 and at the other side there isprovided a wider passage divided by a post or stanchion 7, into exit andentrance portions 9 and 8. Steps 10 and. 11 are provided at therespective passages aforesaid. The post or stanchion 7 is shown assecured to a step located below the platform 5, this step being theupper one of two steps 11 at that side of the platform.

The exit passage 6 is controlled by a sliding door 13 mounted to movelongitudinally of the car by means of rollers let running on rail 15,said door moving into and out of position across said passageway andmoving when in open position between the side 16 of the car and aprotecting shield 17 which is built parallel to the side of the car at asuflicient distance therefrom to form a way in which the door moves.

The sliding door 13 is moved in both directions by pneumatic operatingmeans comprising a cylinder 20, a piston 21, sliding therein, a pistonrod 22 connecting said piston with the sliding door and means foradmitting air pressure to either end of said cylinder and simultaneouslyexhausting or allowing escape ofair from the other end. Admission andexhaustof the air in this manner is controlled by a valve 25 (see Fig.6) comprising a casing formed with a lower member 26 having a flat seat27, an upper member 28 clamped on to said lower member by bolts 29 togive a tight joint, and a rotatable valve member 30 formed as a diskresting on said seat 27. Said valve member is provided with a transversegroove 33 in its top engaged by transverse ribs or lugs 34: on anoperating member 35 rotatably mounted in the upper member 28 andprovided with a shank 36 for reception of an operating handle. A spring37 interposed between the operating member 35 and the valve member 30serves to press said valve member against the seat 27. Said valve member30 is provided, on its under face, with a segmental groove 10cooperating with ports 41, 42, 43, in the valve seat 27, and valvemember 30 is further provided with a vertical channel 38, for connectionwith said ports 11, 42, alternatively. Port 41 is an exhaust port,communicating with the outer .air. The valve seat is provided with acentral passage 15 communicating by pipe 16 with a suitable source ofcompressed air supply, for example, the ordinary air line for thepneumatic brakes, and valve member 30 has a central channel 39 forconnecting with the air supply passage 45 and admitting air pressure tothe space above valve member 30. A valve 25 is preferably located ateach end of the car adja cent to the controlling means for the motiveand brake devices of the car so that the motormancan operate the saidvalve without shifting his position. Port a2 in the valve seat 27 isconnected by pipe 47 with one end of the cylinder 20 and port 43 isconnected by a pipe 48 with the other end of said cylinder.

In the position shown in Fig. 4, which is the normal or inoperativeposition, the groove 40 in the movable valve member is in communicationwith the port 41, but not with either of the ports 42 and 43, andchannel 38 is also out of register with either of the openings 42, 43.The compressed air supply passes through pipe 46, passage 45 and centralbore 39 in the valve member 30 to the space 50 above said valve member,the pressure ofsuch air tending to hold the valve against its seat. Inthis position of the ports there is no tendency to move the door eitherway. Assuming that the door is closed and that it is desired to open thesame, the motorman will move the valve so as to bring the groove 40 intocommunication with port 43 as well as with port 41 and channel 38 intoconnection with port 42. Air can then pass from the space 50 above thevalve member 30 through the channel 38 in said valve member through theport 42 to the pipe 47 and the forward end of the cylinder 20. At thesame time the groove 40 in the rotary valve member establishescommunication between the exhaust opening 41 and the port 43 allowingair to exhaust from the rear end of cylinder 20 through pipe 48 andports 43 and 41. The pressure thus produced on the piston causes thedoor to be opened and the action being pneumatic the door is openedquickly and smoothly, and while the action may be made suflicientlypowerful to open the door with the requisite speed, it has the advantagethat being pneumatic it can be instantly arrested if neces sary or ifany obstruction comes in the way the pressure is not such as to rupturethe mechanism or injure a person or object in the way of the door. Thevarious parts of the door and its guard means are, however, so arrangedthat there is no liability of any portion of a passengers body beingcaught by the door.

Gate means are providedfor the exit and ent"ance passageways 9 and 8 onthe other side of the platform from the passageway 6, said gate meanscomprising gates 52, 53 for the respective passageways 8 and 9, and afixed partition wall 54 serving as a back stop for the gate 52 and as abarrier for the passengers. At the front of the car these gates 52, 53will be closed and at the rear end they are open so as to provide forexit and entrance, the conductor standing adjacent to the barrier 54 andsaid barrieraiding the conductor in directing the outgoing passengers tothe exit and in preventing the in coming passengers from entering thebody of the car until they have paid their fares. By means of thisconstruction of gates, I am enabled to adapt the combination car havingopen and closed portions, for use as a pay-asyou-enter car. Catches 55,56 may be provided for holding gates 52, 53 in open position.

Exit 9 is an emergency exit and the closure 53 therefor will generallybe held in closed position by suitable means but may be held open whenrequired by catch means 56.

The cars above referred to as combination cars having open and closedportions are provided with open portions at each end, such open portionhaving seats, as indicated at 4 in Fig. 4, there being rows of seats 4along each side, with a passageway or aisle 1 between the rows of seats,this passageway being midway of the width of the ear. The barrier 54 isplaced directly facing this passageway, so that the passengers comingdown this central passageway will encounter the barrier and will turn toone side to reach the emergency exit, whereas the passengers entering at8 and passing over the platform 5 will pass around the barrier at theother side thereof, to reach the central passageway 1.

What I claim is:

In a car, a platform at both ends united unobstructedly with the sameand extending the width of the car and on the same plane as the floor ofthe car, transversely disposed seats on said floor, an aisle between theinner ends of said seats, a relatively small stationary barrier securedon one of the platforms between the seat and the platform-end and inline with the aisle, a passageway at one side of the car between saidseats and platform-end, a post or stanchion secured to said platform insaid passage-way and between the end seat and the end of the saidplatform and adapted to divide such passage-way into separatepassageavays, steps at said passage-ways leading to the platform, gatesadapted to open and close said passage-ways, and to be independentlyextended toward the stationary barrier to close the space between saidpost and the stationary barrier, and a passageavay through the side ofthe car and on the opposite platform between its end and the end seat onthe same side as the double passage-way, and a gate and steps therefor.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angles,California this 26th day of July, 1912.

EDIVARD L. STEPHENS.

In presence of ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, MARTHA M. LANGE.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

